Cranfield School of Management has launched the 2012 Best Factory Awards, its nationwide search to find the best manufacturers in Britain. The thirteen award categories include People Management, Skills Development, Health & Safety as well as the coveted overall prize of Best Factory of the Year.

The awards are run by Cranfield School of Management in partnership with manufacturing magazine Works Management and aim to recognise and reward British manufacturing excellence. The deadline for entries is 30 March 2012.

Dr Marek Szwejczewski, Director of the Best Factory Awards said: “All plants that participate in the awards will receive a confidential and detailed individual benchmarking report from Cranfield, which compares their performance with industry standards. The report often initiates improvement plans to help factories achieve world class manufacturing standards.”

Works Management (WM) editor Max Gosney challenged UK factory owners to “walk the walk" by entering the 2012...